CHAPTER XII
A WOLF HUNT--TWO SNAKE STORIES--TERRIBLE STRUGGLE WITH A MOUNTAIN WOLF--A MAIL RIDER EATEN--THE OLD TRAPPER'S EXPERIENCE WITH FOUR OF THE FIERCE BEASTS
THE allied tribes of the plains, now thoroughly whipped into subjectionby the gallant Sheridan and his intrepid subordinates, Custer and Sully,went sullenly to the reservations recently established by the Governmentin the Indian Territory, and "white-winged Peace" once more spread herpinions over the fair land of Kansas. The settlers could go from onevillage to another with perfect immunity from sudden attacks by savageshidden in some ambush on the trails, so the state made phenomenalstrides toward a greater civilization.
Crops were enormous in their results when the virgin soil was turned tothe sun, but the wolves, especially in the vicinity of Errolstrath,seemed to increase with the prodigality of Jonah's gourd. They became sopersistent in their nightly depredations at the ranches, that only by aconcentrated effort of the neighborhood to exterminate them couldstock-raising be made profitable.
A few days after Colonel Keogh's visit to Errolstrath on that happyThanksgiving when Kate had come back safely to her home, an orderly fromFort Harker dismounted in front of the house, bearing a note to Joe fromGeneral Custer. It stated that the General proposed to hunt the wolvesthe day after to-morrow, and desired him to invite Mr. Tucker, the oldtrapper, and as many more of the neighbors who were good shots, as wouldlike to go. He wanted the party to meet him at the mouth of the Oxhideas early as seven o'clock. From this point he intended to go to thegeneral rendezvous of the beasts in the limestone region, down the SmokyHill.
As soon as dinner was over at Errolstrath, Joe saddled his pony, andstarted for Mr. Tucker's ranche three miles away, to invite him to comeover to stay all night and join Custer and the others of the party onthe morning of the hunt.
Rob was at the same time told by his father to get his pony and deliverGeneral Custer's invitation to as many of the neighbors as he couldreach, and return by sundown. He left promptly on his mission, but wentin a direction exactly opposite from that of his brother.
When he had loped along about a mile up the Oxhide, his attention wasattracted by a curious noise which seemed to come from the bank of thestream. He rode his pony through the brush toward the strange sound, andwhat was his surprise to see two snakes fighting right on the extremeedge of the water where the bank was only just above its level. One ofthe reptiles was a black water-snake, and the other a bull-snake nearlytwice as thick round as his opponent, but not quite as long. Thebull-snake had his tail firmly wrapped around a sunflower stalk, and theother had his attached to a big weed. Each had hold of the other by themiddle and was trying to pull in an opposite direction. It was evidentlythe intention of the black snake to drag his antagonist into the waterand drown him, for he is a good swimmer, while the bull is not, and thelatter was just as determined that his enemy should not get him into thestream.
They were both stretched to their utmost tension, and as Rob said, whenhe told about them on his return, he expected every moment to see thembreak in two; for both were drawn out as thin as a clothes-line. At lastthe hold of the bull-snake gave way, and the impetus, like the snappingof a whip, threw them both into the water. Now the black snake had adecided advantage, for he was in his element, and he immediately exertedevery muscle to draw his antagonist's head under. Finally, after asevere struggle he succeeded in holding him there for a few moments, andwhen he let go, the bull-snake's dead body rose to the surface. Then theblack snake gave a few shakes to his tail and darted off under thewater, apparently not the least injured by his death-struggle with hislarger antagonist.
Both boys returned to Errolstrath before sundown, and as it was Rob'smonth to take care of the cows and milk them, he went promptly about hisbusiness. Joe, after taking Mr. Tucker's horse to the stable, andfeeding the other stock, returned to the house, and sat in the big room,talking to his guest for half an hour, until supper was announced.
Supper being cleared away, all adjourned to the sitting-room again, andthe boys and girls proposed that the old trapper should relate some moreof his experiences in the Rocky Mountains, when he was a young man; arequest with which he cheerfully complied whenever he passed a night atErrolstrath.
After all were comfortably seated in their accustomed places, Rob toldof his adventure with the two snakes on the bank of the Oxhide, whenJoe, after his brother had finished, remarking that coincidences werecurious, stated that he, too, that same afternoon, had had an adventurewith three snakes--one more than Rob.
"When I reached the broad military road to Fort Sill," said he, "at thecrossing of Mud Creek, I noticed some distance down the trail a terriblecommotion. The dust was flying as if it had been twisted around by awhirlwind, and by looking steadily I could see something moving on thebare earth, where the grass is all worn off the road. I rode slowly upto the moving object, ready for any emergency, when I discovered threebull-snakes, two of them of immense size, the third one not so large.They had a half-grown cottontail among them, and were fighting bravelyfor the sole possession of the little creature, which was already nearlydead. I thought I would stay to see the fun, so I whipped the smallerone, and one of the larger of the reptiles away. They went hissing intothe grass, as I applied my riding-whip to them pretty lively. Then I satstill on my pony to watch the single snake enjoy the meal I had soopportunely provided for him.
"Presently he began to wind his long body around the rabbit, and I couldhear the bones of the poor thing crack as the muscular pressure wasapplied. He then gradually unfolded himself, turned his head toward themuzzle of his prey, dislocated his jaws, and commenced to take in therabbit.
"Little by little the rabbit, which was much larger than the snake'sbody, disappeared, until it was entirely enveloped by the reptile. Thenhe coolly reset his jaws, and after a series of hisses--perhaps he wasthanking me for my kindness in interfering on his behalf--he crawledaway into the thick grass. I let him go, Mr. Tucker; for we never kill abull-snake, they are such good hunters for gophers, mice, and evenrabbits, which are becoming such a nuisance here. I saw several wolves,of course; you can't go a mile anywhere without seeing them, but as Icarried no gun with me I did not try to interview any of them."
"I expect to have a good time the day after to-morrow," said the oldtrapper, "and it will recall some of my own experiences with them yearsago."
"Oh, do tell us about it!" said Kate; "I just love hunting adventures."
"All right, Kate; you have grown into a kind of savage since your lifewith the Indians, eh?"
"I heard lots of wonderful stories from the warriors when they sataround the fire at night, but they told such abominable yarns that Ididn't believe them. They can stretch a thing pretty well, I tell you,"answered Kate.
"Begin, please, Mr. Tucker," said Rob, who was as interested as any ofthe family.
"Well, then," said he, "I will tell you of the brave deed of a Mexican,which occurred a good many years ago, when I was down in SouthernCalifornia.
"He was a native, and named Amador Sanchez, well known in the SierraNevadas as a brave and successful hunter. He had a terrible fight withone of those great shaggy, gray mountain wolves. The struggle lasted forseveral hours, and ended by both combatants being laid prostrate on theground. They were so completely exhausted as to be unable to reach eachother from want of sheer physical strength. In that condition theypassed one whole night. On the following morning, when the Mexican hadrecovered sufficiently to be able to creep to his shaggy antagonist, hefound him dead.
"The terrible conflict grew out of the Mexican's daring attempt to savethe life of a boy who was about to be torn to pieces when the Mexicanattacked the wolf.
"At one time the wolf had the youth under him in such a way that it wasimpossible for Sanchez to plant a ball in any vital organ withoutimperilling the boy's life. Nothing daunted, however, with both revolverand rifle, he succeeded in lodging several bullets in other parts of thesavage beast. Still the enraged brute
clung to the unfortunate child,using every endeavor to tear him to pieces and horribly mangling everypart of his body. At this juncture, the brave Mexican hunter could nolonger refrain from active effort. He dropped his pistols and rifle,drew his sheath-knife and slung-shot; then winding his blanket aroundhis left arm to protect it, he rushed in and compelled the animal toturn upon him, and so gave the boy a chance to escape.
"Wounds were freely given and returned, but the wary Sanchez fought withmuch dexterity and determination. The wolf finally became so mad withrage and pain, that he closed in upon the Mexican and threw him headlongupon the ground, where he remained almost senseless for a few momentsbefore recovering his breath.
"Instead of following up his advantage, the beast, doubtless believinghis enemy dead, because he did not move, commenced to examine and lickhis own bleeding wounds. The spirit of the intrepid Mexican, however,was up, and he determined to conquer the wolf or die.
"Early in the struggle, by a blow from his slung-shot, Sanchez hadsucceeded in breaking the brute's lower jaw, and that wasunquestionably the fortunate wound which eventually gave the victory tothe Mexican.
"Sanchez renewed the fight as soon as he felt himself sufficientlyrested, and, by adopting some curious tactics, in which he wasmaterially assisted by a clump of trees, he succeeded in putting someheavy blows with his knife right into its vitals. At this, the wolf wasaroused again to an unendurable madness, and, gathering himself for onegrand effort, he bit at the Mexican's head and once more felled him tothe earth. From this final attack, and his previous loss of blood, thebrave man fainted dead away. How long he remained in that state he couldnot tell; but when he became conscious again, he found that the victorywas on his side, for the wolf had breathed his last.
"The poor boy, as soon as the battle was decided, as he supposed at thecost of his friend's life, started for the village, arriving there latethe following afternoon. Upon hearing his story, a party of well-armedmen immediately went to the scene of the struggle, to bury their bravecomrade. They were guided by the boy, who was able to ride a pony.
"Arriving at the spot about midnight, they found Sanchez in a mostpitiful condition. His flesh was terribly mangled, his clothes were tornto ribbons, and his back and shoulders were one mass of laceratedwounds, inflicted by the sharp teeth and claws of the wolf.
"Although he received the most delicate care and assistance at thehospital from those noble women, the Sisters of Charity, it was manyweeks before he was able to resume his occupation of hunting. Even thenhe owed his life to his wonderful recuperative powers and his ironconstitution."
"What a terrible time he must have had," said Kate. "The gray wolf is anawful animal to be attacked by. Do you know that they very frequently gomad, and then many savages are bitten, and die a horrible death fromhydrophobia? One of the warriors was bitten while I was down in theIndian village. He had a hand-to-hand tussle with the wolf, and althoughhe was only slightly bitten, he died raving."
"Yes, they are bad brutes to deal with," said the old trapper,"particularly those huge fellows that hunt in packs; a man has not theslightest chance with them. I know that in Oregon, about twelve yearsago, the mail rider for the military posts of Forts Dallas and Simcoewas caught in the mountains by a pack of them, and nothing of him or hisanimal was found excepting the letter sack, the hoofs of his horse, andsome buttons, with other portions of the rider's clothing."
"Have you ever had a personal encounter with any of the terriblebeasts?" inquired Mrs. Thompson.
"Oh, yes!" replied the old man. "I'll tell you all about it."
"In 1856, I tried to ranche it in the central portion of WashingtonTerritory. I had no neighbor nearer than thirty miles. I was a littlelonesome at first, because it was really the first time I had beenwithout partners, and I saw my neighbors but once in a whole year.
"I remember that I started to visit John Elliott. I felt that I neededcompany, and he and I had trapped together some years before, and werewell acquainted.
"Towards evening, I started for my thirty-mile walk. It was in December,and of course, cool, with a magnificent full moon to light my trailthrough the deep forest and over the prairie.
"I had gone about two miles, I think, and as I neared a small lake, andwas tramping along the edge of the water with my rifle carelesslyswinging in my left hand, I suddenly heard a growl that startled me, andstopping at once, I saw a great wolf standing with his paw buried in thecarcass of a red deer, and his mouth full of its flesh. The brute wasnot chewing, for his jaws were motionless, and he looked at me as ifdeciding which was the better meal for him, that which he had under hisfeet, or I. He was an immense animal. I don't think I have ever seen alarger wolf. If I had left him alone and gone about my business, hewould not have troubled me. They are generally cowards, and will run atthe sight of man, unless provoked or cornered, or are running in packs,when they will fight to the death.
"I, like the fool that I was, raised my rifle, took a quick aim at him,and pulled the trigger. He jumped at the instant I fired, and although Iaimed at his heart, I missed it and hit him in the upper part of thefore leg. Then with his mouth wide open, showing his white teeth, andthe froth running down the sides of his cheeks in his rage, he came forme with a howl, which I thought was answered by about fifty more in thetimber.
"It didn't take me ten seconds to get up into the fork of an oak treewhich stood only a few feet away. By the time I was safely settled in myseat, there were four more of the great grizzled beasts right under me,smacking their chops and whining as if their mouths watered for a tasteof my flesh. If I could have talked to them in their own way, I wouldhave suggested that they go and feast off of the deer which still layintact.
"Then, as I could not make them go away by mere suggestions, I loaded myrifle and shot one of them as dead as the deer. That made more food forthe others, as they will eat each other under certain circumstances, butthat particular time was not one of them. I didn't blame them, for thebrute I had killed was a long, gaunt, miserably thin, mangy-lookingcreature that seemed as if he had not had anything to eat for a month.
"The refuge I had sought from the ravenous beasts was but a sapling, andI expected it every moment to break with my weight. Presently, I heardthe crotch begin to split, and letting my rifle drop, I was quick enoughto catch my arms and legs around the trunk of the tree, and hold on forlife until I could draw my knife and shove it into my belt ready foruse.
"Having accomplished this, I watched my chance, and if there ever wassuch a scared wolf as the one round whose back I wound my arms when Ifell, I'd like to see him!
"We rolled on the ground together, and the other three just backed offto watch the fight, and a pretty moonlight tussle it was. He got my bodyunder him at last, and I thought I was done for.
"I felt a little faint when he sunk his teeth into me, but he didn'tseem to like the hold he had, so he pulled his teeth out of me, tore mycoat, shirt, and flesh, then seized my fur cap and shook it for amoment, which was a lucky mistake for me on his part. I felt his wetlips on my forehead, and had just time to let go my hold on his throatand clutch my knife, when he seized my cap again and made an attempt toswallow it. His throat was in no condition to get it down, however, formy knife-blade was through his jugular, and the point of it in hisspinal marrow, and in another minute he was dead wolf!
"I bled considerably when I got up, but I wasn't weakened a bit. Thewhole affair had occurred in half a minute, and I was ready for theother three, who now all attacked me together. I caught up my rifle andstruck one of them across the nose and floored him. As he picked himselfup I seized him by the hind foot and fell upon him. If the first wolfwas frightened when I tumbled on him from the tree, this one was moreso. I can never forget the awful howl he gave as I stood up on my feetagain, and swinging him into the air, struck one of the remaining two aterrible blow with his body.
"The first one I had wounded was scared at the novel fight, and tuckinghis tail between his legs, vanished into the woods, and I w
as left withonly two on my hands. I caught up one of them as I had caught the other,and his comrade took to his heels and was soon out of sight.
"The one I held by the heels, I swung twice around my head and then lethim fly. The centrifugal force, as they used to call it at college,forced out his wind, and his scream, as he shot through the air, wasdiabolical. He went fully a rod into the water, and his howl onlystopped when he struck it. I was weak and faint now from the tremendousexertion. The beast came up again, and struck out for the shore. When hereached it, he did not dare to approach me, but stood there as ifpetrified.
"At last he began to move off. I followed him slowly, and saw that hewas getting tired. Presently he stopped again and tried to climb on thetop of a shelving rock, but he was very weak, and just as he was makingthe attempt a second time, I raised my rifle and sent a bullet into hisheart.
"I was now rid of all my foes, but too weak to walk much further, so Iwent back to my cabin and gave up my proposed visit until I wasrecovered from my wounds."
"Well," said Joe, "that beats my fight with the panther. We sha'n't haveany such trouble on the day after to-morrow, though, for we shall havea big enough party to fight a whole mountain full of them."
It was long after ten o'clock when Mr. Tucker had finished the thrillingstory of his fight, and then the family all retired--some of them todream of wolves, bears, and panthers perhaps.